Rugby: Exciting new talent to the fore as Longford 2nd XV romp to big win over North Kildare

Longford 2nds welcomed North Kildare on Sunday for their first game since the Christmas break.

The visitors had been a tough nut to crack and it required a last minute try to gain all four points in the away fixture earlier in the season.

Longford have bolstered their squad since with the return of some stalwarts and the addition of exciting new talent and it was the home team that prevailed on a score line of 58-5.

Longford had a great start and two Joe McGowan penalties were followed by four tries before the half was over.

Kyle Kenny dotted down for his hat trick on the half time whistle and this was added to by the excellent Daithi Connolly with Joe McGowan kicking all four conversions.

Also read: Rugby: Longford grind out hard earned win over North Kildare in bruising Leinster League battle

Kenny bagged his fourth shortly after half time but the game got a bit scrappy and to their credit the North Kildare men stayed in the fight getting a five pointer of their own.Longford finished the game off with Kevin Byrne, Connolly and Joe McGowan all dotting down. Joe McGowan finished with a personal tally of 23 points but it was the try scoring Kyle Kenny who received the man of the match award.

In the pack the leadership of all three Geelan’s shone through and the returning Conor Craig put in a great shift. Sam O’Rourke was combative and clever at 9 while William Higgins and Daithi Connolly worked well in the centre while it was great to see Brian Carr get his first cap.

Next up is a tough away fixture in Roscrea and Longford will be made to work for the four points down there.

U18 Boys
Gorey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Longford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Longford were away for round 3 of the Leinster league with Gorey the opposition.

Confident that the extended winning run would continue, they soon knew that they were in a dogfight. Gorey took a 12-0 lead into half time before Longford came out fighting and levelled the scores with tries from Jonathan Groenewald and Sean Molihan. Gorey pressed on with another try and as much as Longford fought back, could not get the critical score.

Gorey were more determined and up for the challenge on the day, whereas while Longford’s numbers were diminished in terms of lack of forwards replacements, the boys will feel that they left this one behind them. The character of the team will be tested this Friday as they seek to bounce back against Midlands Warriors.

Longford: Tadgh McCauley, Dominic Greene, James Grahan, Tom Murray, Sean Molihan, John Sheridan, Mark Glynn, Jamie Donoghue, Senan Murphy, Darragh Walsh, Shane McGuigan, Daniel Corr, Jonathan Groenewald, Derek Belton, Jack Brogan, Sean Ginty, Rahman Aro-Lambo.

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U17 Boys
Longford U17s v Ardee Leinster League Division 1

Saturday saw the Longford U17’s back in action after the Christmas break in the first match of the Leinster League Division 1 competition against visitors, Ardee.

From the kick off it quickly became apparent that Longford would dominate the proceedings.

Great forward play from Longford up the right of the pitch and into the Ardee half saw the pressure pile on and with quick ball passing through multiple hands finding outside centre Conor Meadows who powered through the defensive line to score the first try inside of one minute which Conor Clarke converted.

The game continued in the same manner with the forwards controlling the ball up front and setting up clean fast ball for the back line and was a great display of strong fast open rugby bringing the results it deserved.

Further try scorers in the first half were Liam Ruske (C), Brian Mulvihill, 2 from Aiden Kelly, David Osabuehien, JJ Reilly, Conor Clarke and Ryan Egan with 6 of them converted by Conor Clarke.

Longford used their 3 subs at the break and they continued to dominate the game.

To the credit of the visitors, Ardee kept playing and never dropped their heads doing themselves really proud in what was a very tough task. The scores kept on coming in the second half following great breaks, strong running, fast hands and powerful rucking and scrummaging.

Try scores after the break were 2 from Joel Gyasi, a further 2 from Ryan Egan giving him a hat trick, a second for Brian Mulvihill, with 2 converted by Daire Finnegan and 1 by Ryan Egan. The strength and speed of the Longford lads was just too much for Ardee who are a new squad and still learning and growing.

The visitors showed great commitment and competed throughout the game up to the final whistle and were a credit to their club.

A very impressive performance from Longford U17s to take forward and build upon in the competition ahead.

Longford: JJ Reilly, Liam Ruske (C), Diarmuid Hanly, Krzysztof Mielczarek, John Waters, Ryan Egan, Brian Mulvihill, Daire Finnegan, Conor Clarke, Donnacha Reynolds, David Osabuehien, Aiden Kelly, Conor Meadows, Cathal O’Reilly, Adam Dunworth, Aaron Marshall, Adam Madej, Joel Gyasi.

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Youth results
Boys U14 lost at home to Portlaoise 21-10
Boys U18 lost away to Gorey 22-12
Boys U15 defeated Enniscorthy at home 33-26
Boys U17 defeated Ardee at home 30-0
Girls U16 lost at home to Enniscorthy 44-14
The Girls U18 game against Kilkenny did not proceed as Kilkenny could not field
Boys U13 lost away to Gorey 35-7
Boys U16 lost 26-22 away to Arklow.

Youth fixtures
All Leinster League
U18 Girls home to DLSM
U18 Boys home to Midland Warriors
U14 Boys home to Dundalk
U16 Girls away to MU Barnhall
U15 Boys away to Tullamore

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Minis news
Unfortunately, many of the Minis blitzes in other Clubs were cancelled due to weather conditions but the U9’s made it to Tullamore while the U12 boys travelled to West Offaly Lions.
Next weekend, we host an U10 girls blitz on Saturday, the U12 boys are in Midland Warriors while the U12 girls are in Roscrea.
As always, however, check WhatsApp Groups for changes/updates. For all not involved in a blitz, training continues on Sunday morning at 10.30am.

Schools Rugby

Wilsons Hospital School . . 21
St Columb’s College . . . . . . . 15

Longford’s U18’s and 17’s had a strong representation on the Wilsons Hospital Schools team which defeated St Columba’s College in the first round of the Schools Vinnie Murray Senior Cup played in Energia Park during the week – Shane McGuigan, Joel Gyasi, Mark Glynn, Yaw Appiah and Liam Ruske – with the two tries from Joel Gyasi credited as breaking the resistance of St Columba’s.
Mark Glynn at hooker also scored a try, with the match report describing him as “excellent”.

Senior Men
Following the win over North Kildare, Longford 1st XV sit fourth in the league on 26 points, 2 points behind New Ross in third.
Coolmine continued their impressive march towards promotion with their tenth victory out of ten for 45 points. Clondalkin consolidated their push for second place and a play off game for promotion against the second from bottom placed team in Division 1B with a win against Edenderry and lie on39 points.

Next Sunday Longford are away to Roscrea.

In the 2nds League, Longford sit in second spot on 27 points, just 5 behind Coolmine who are eight from eight on 32 points.
As with the 1sts, the 2nds are also away to Roscrea at the weekend.

Senior Women
The Senior women had a tough day away, losing 43-7 to South East Lions and their next match is on January 26, at home to Tallaght.